Fire extinguisher



1946. E. F. ANGELL FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed July 22. 1944 Earle EA ng'ell' Patented Dec. 10, 1946 FIRE EXTINGUISHER Earle F. Angell, Richmond, Va., assignor to Edgar C. Bothwell, Jr., Richmond, Va.

ApplicationJu-ly 22, 1944, Serial No. 546,103

This invention relates to an improved fire extinguisher in which a chemical is discharged upon the heat of fire releasing a spring-pressed hammer or plunger to break a glass or .other frangible seal of the chemical container.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a fire extinguisher which may be hung on the wall of a room; or on the side wall or roof of a truck; or in kitchens or similar places where fire protection is needed, and which will not break or crack when struck or accidentaly dropped, but will be instantly ready for use in the event of fire. In that connection, the invention contemplates a container for a fire-smothering liquid chemical made out of metal, plastic or other normally non-breakable material, but having an outlet covered by a frangible or breakable-seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chemical container provided with means for detachably connecting it to a hood which carries a smasher slug, so that the hood and container may be readily connected for assembly or disconnected as, for example, when it is desired to replace a container or hood, or to effect renewal of the chemical contents of the container, by way of salvage, in the event that the entire unit has not been damaged too badly by fire to be of further service or use. This arrangement also affords the opportunity of easily resetting the smasher slug and substituting a new fusible unit.

A further object of the invention is to provide the nozzle or lower end of the hood with a guard for the guide stem of the smasher slug to avoid accidental release thereof if it is unintentionally struck by moving objects in the room or shifting cargo in a truck.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter'more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of the fire extinguisher constituting the present invention.

Figure 2 is a detail view of the smasher slug.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modified form of the invention.

Similar reference characters designate corre- 1 Claim. (Cl. 16926) spending parts through the several figures of the drawing.

A distinctive feature of the invention resides in providing a container for the fire extinguishing chemical and a detachably connected hood which carries the smasher slug, said. hood also having a series of openings to provide a nozzle for more effectively distributing the chemical when released by fire. These features may be embodied in the constructions shown in Figs. 1 and l.

As will be observed from Fig. 1, this fire extinguishing unit primarily consists of a container A and a hood B fitted to the lower end thereof, the said lower or nozzle end of the hood having a cage or guard C afiixed thereto, as will presently appear more in detail. Said container A has two exteriorly threaded portions l and 2 of different diameter. The threaded portion 9 is preferably made on a collar or flange I located substantially at the junction of the inclined bottom 3 with the side Wall of the container.

The exteriorly threaded portion 2 is located on the outer face of the neck i of the bottom 3 thereby to receive the internally threaded skirt portion 4 of a cover ring 5. This ring is intended to clamp a glass or other frangible seal 6 over the outlet or mouth of the said neck of the container.

The threads I of flange I are intended to receive the internally threaded flange l of the hood B. As will be apparent from the drawing, this hood is preferably of substantially frusto-coni- V cal form thereby to include the tapering side wall portion 8 and the relatively flat bottom wall 9. The lower portion of the wall 8 is provided with a plurality of openings ill to form a spray nozzle to permit the escape of fire extinguishing fluid when the seal 6 is broken.

The wall 9 of the hood B supports the smasher slug designated generally as S. This element preferably consists of a lead plunger portion l 1 having a flange !2 and a striking head I 3, together with a brass or equivalent stem M. This stem is medially notched at opposite sides as indicated at l5. That is to say, two pairs of notches may be provided, one adjacent and axially spaced from the other and angularly disposed at approximately to provide sufiicient longitudinal tolerance for the stem to set the spring It by means of the fusible element F. In other words, two sets of notches may be provided to afford opportunity to easily compress the spring and place the fusible element F in one of the notches even though. there may be some inequalities in the wall 9 and some variation in the overall compressed length of the spring coil l6.

As will be seen from Figure 1, the spring l6 surrounds the body of the plunger H and the stem 14, and is confined between the flange l2 of the slug and the inner face of the bottom wall 9 of the hood B when the fusible element F is placed in engagement with one selected pair of the notches 15.

The fusible element F preferabIy consists of two arms I! and 18 each having a disk like portion at one end which is soldered to a circular plate I9 by a fusible solder I92 which melts at a given temperature. Thus, the fusible element F is of substantially hairpin formation. Assuming the hood B is disconnected from the container A, the spring l6 may be compressed until one of the notches i is accessible beyond the outer face of the wall 9 of the hood. The arms l1 and iii of the fusible element F can then be placed astride the stem It in one-pair of notches l5 and then a link 20 passed over the upturned ends of said arms to hold the fuse against lateral displacement. The disks are then soldered to the plate l9. When the solder connecting the arms I"! and I8 melts the arms will fall apart and the spring [6 will be released to urge the head l3 toward the frangible seal 6 of the container. When this to the fire.

As previously indicated, the container A is intended to be made of non-breakable material;

for example, aluminum, plastic, or any material which is normally non-breakable. At the time the container A is made, it is provided with the exterior threads I and 2 which make it possible not only to readily separate the container A from the hood B to set the smasher slug in the hood but also permit the cover ring 5 to be removed" so that the container may be filled with liquid and the cover ring then replaced to secure the glass or other frangible seal 6 in place.

By making the container A out of non-break- According to Fig. 4, the container A has the hood B attached directly to the neck. That is to say, the external threads 2 of the neck mate with the internal threads 2 of the hood B which carries the smasher slug S and the guard C. The hood B is also provided with an internal rib B or its equivalent which cooperates with the mouth of the container to clamp the frangible seal 6 in position to receive a. blow from the head 13 of the slug S when the latter is released. The slug S i of the same construction shown in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the structural features of the present invention are advantageous from a manufacturing and assembly standpoint, and also afford the opportunity by salvaging containers which are not seriously harmed by fire, since, in most cases, the fire extinguishing liquid, namely, carbon tetra-chloride, usually puts out the fire before the container itself is damaged to any appreciable extent.

It will, of course, be understood that the container A may be provided with an eye or equivalent hanger E. As shown, the hanger may be on top of the container or it may be on the side thereof. Also, the shape of the container may be varied within the scope of the invention as shown in Fig. 4. That is to say, it may be made so that its vertical dimension is less than its transverse dimension to produce a relatively flat rectangular or circular body to fit within the purlins or ribs of the roof of a truck.

I claim:

A fire extinguisher, comprising, a non-breakable chemical storage container including a tubular side wall, a downwardly inclined bottom wall integral therewith, an annular neck at the lower end of said bottom wall, said neck having external threads, 2. cover ring having internal threads for engaging said external threads of the neck, a frangible seal secured to the open end of the neck by the cover ring, an annular collar integral with the junction of the tubular side wall and the downwardly inclined bottom wall and able material, breakages incident to use of glass containers of the grenade type are avoided, while, at the same time, the container is always ready for use because the frangible seal 6 is always positioned to be struck by the smasher slug although .4

tects the lower end of the stem 14 against acci:

dental displacement.

disposed as a dependent continuation of said side wall, said collar being externally threaded, a frusto conical hood having a perforated bottom portion and an upper internally threaded flange for detachably engagin the external threads of the collar, a smasher slug supported in the hood, and fusible means cooperating with the hood and slug to hold said slug poised for automatic release to break said. seal.

EARLE F. ANGELL. 

